by Uriel Jospeh Wilensky., Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1993., Includes bibliographical references (leaves 201-209).

If we are to understand the innately human ability to solve complex problems, we must first understand the cognitive processes that allow us to combine different kinds of knowledge, to learn new things and to communicate with other people. I…

(cont.) which is expected, given their additional knowledge resources. The respondents' urgency in looking for the relevant knowledge is the primary explanation for this difference between the two networks. This difference in knowledge networking among the different groups did not…

This paper presents a knowledge-based approach to
reducing impediments to collaboration in a
distributed environment. A major impediment to
such collaboration is the issue of communications -
clearly and efficiently expressing the desires of every
stakeholder in the process, as…

This paper analyzes the suitability of reinforcement learning (RL) for both programming and adapting situated agents. We discuss two RL algorithms: Q-learning and the Bucket Brigade. We introduce a special case of the Bucket Brigade, and analyze and compare its…

We develop a novel autonomous control synthesis strategy called Phase Space Navigator for the automatic synthesis of nonlinear control systems. The Phase Space Navigator generates global control laws by synthesizing flow shapes of dynamical systems and planning and navigating system…

We develop a qualitative method for understanding and representing phase space structures of complex systems and demonstrate the method with a program, MAPS --- Modeler and Analyzer for Phase Spaces, using deep domain knowledge of dynamical system theory. Given a…

SweetDeal is a rule-based approach to representation of business contracts that enables software agents to create, evaluate, negotiate, and execute contracts with substantial automation and modularity. It builds upon the situated courteous logic programs knowledge representation in RuleML, the emerging…

A key problem in model-based object recognition is selection, namely, the problem of determining which regions in the image are likely to come from a single object. In this paper we present an approach that extracts and uses color region…

The computational metaphor which proposes the comparison of processes of mind to realizable or imaginable computer activities suggests a number of educational concerns. This paper discusses some of those concerns including procedural modes of knowledge representation and control knowledge ??owing…